Apple iCloud Drive Review
Sometimes it’s easiest to use built-in tools, even if they’re not the best you can get in terms of capabilities and price. The appeal of convenience is certainly true of iCloud Drive, the cloud storage service that comes with all Apple devices. iCloud Drive is perfectly passable and incredibly convenient for Mac and iPhone users in particular. But it’s not the best cloud storage and file-sharing service on the market. Other applications offer more space for less money, or have more robust sharing options, or both.
iCloud is already built into Apple devices—you just need to turn it on and, depending on how much data you have, potentially pay for a subscription. Many apps built for macOS and iOS use iCloud by default for syncing, and it’s the only option for syncing photos in the Photos apps among Macs, iPhones, and iPads. (You can sync photos with other services, but not in the Photos app.) Apple enthusiasts are well served by iCloud, though other options offer more features if that’s what you need.
Mục Lục
How Much Does iCloud Drive Cost?
Apple’s iCloud includes 5GB of storage to everyone who owns an Apple device. If you sign up without an Apple device, you get 1GB for free. The 5GB that comes included with a device is the same amount of free storage offered by Editors’ Choice winners Microsoft OneDrive and IDrive, and much less than the 15GB of free storage offered by Google Drive (though that storage is shared with Gmail).
Paid plans are called iCloud+. The cheapest one includes 50GB of storage for 99 cents per month. (Note that outside the US, the price varies(Opens in a new window) but in most cases is a very close conversion.) Microsoft OneDrive offers a storage-only plan for $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year that gives you 100GB. With a Google One subscription, you can increase your Google Drive capacity to 100GB for the same price ($1.99 per month).
The next iCloud+ plan offers 200GB of storage for $2.99 per month, which is the same that Google One charges for that amount of storage.
The most expensive iCloud+ plan offers 2TB of storage for $9.99 per month, which once again is the exact price Google One costs for the same amount of storage. Microsoft OneDrive doesn’t offer a 2TB plan, but for $9.99 per month you can get 6TB of storage to share between six people along with access to the Microsoft 365 suite of applications. If you need Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, it’s a much better deal. IDrive offers even better value: 4TB of storage for $79.50 per year, which is twice the storage as iCloud Drive for less money.
If all you care about is the price per gigabyte, iCloud isn’t the most economical choice. But if you care about ease of use, there’s a compelling case to stick with iCloud.
What Do You Get With iCloud+?
Most of the major cloud platforms offer more than just cloud storage. Microsoft’s OneDrive, for example, gives subscribers to most plans access to Microsoft 365 applications. Google One adds photo editing tools, a mobile VPN, and priority support.
Apple already offers a complete office suite to anyone who owns an Apple device. And I’ve mentioned that only iCloud can sync photos in the Photos app across Apple devices. Other cloud storage services can back up and sync photos from Apple devices, granted, but then the synced copy is in another location, not the Photos app. For many people, being able to keep photos in the Photos app is reason enough to pay for an iCloud subscription.
Beyond that, iCloud+ offers a few security features. For example, Private Relay obscures your IP address while browsing the web using Safari. It effectively makes it impossible for advertisers to track you, and depending on your use case, it could be a decent alternative to a VPN. Another perk is Hide My Email, which lets you create unique, random email addresses you can use to sign up for online services without sharing your actual email address. iCloud+ also comes with a custom email domain, HomeKit Secure Video support for one camera, and the ability to share everything with up to five family members.
Another feature that all iCloud users get, even those who aren’t paying for more storage, is Keychain. Enable it, and you can also sync your passwords among devices—even Windows computers, thanks to a couple of browser extensions. While it’s positioned as a decent alternative to a dedicated password manager, Apple now also offers passwordless Passkeys, which could be a workable more secure option, if more companies support it.
None of the other cloud storage apps we’ve reviewed offer quite this many security-specific features, though more expensive services, such as Dropbox, add other kinds of benefits. For example, a paid Dropbox account includes a password manager, e-signature tools, and tools for taking screenshots and recording video of your screen. Business-grade Dropbox accounts add even more sharing options, such as the ability to password-protect shared links and track who downloads files. Those accounts are much more expensive, however.
What Platforms Does iCloud Drive Work On?
Apple’s iCloud Drive is primarily designed for Apple devices, though it also works on Windows. Apple recommends using the most recent version of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, though the minimal requirements are iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite. On older operating systems, some iCloud features, such as Folder Sharing and iCloud Photos, won’t work(Opens in a new window).
The Windows client for iCloud Drive runs on Windows 10 (May 2019 Update) or later, and requires a 64-bit device.
The web version of iCloud Drive works on most browsers. Apple says it works on Safari 9.1 or later, Firefox 45 or later, Google Chrome 54 or later, or any version of Microsoft Edge. There is no version of iCloud Drive for Linux computers or Android devices (though you can of course access it in the web client on those platforms).
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Getting Started on Apple Devices
If you own an Apple device, you almost certainly already have an iCloud account. One of the first things these devices ask you to do during setup is either log into your Apple ID or set up an account, which is required to use the App Store. You can check your account in the System Settings on your device. Click or tap on your name. Your iCloud settings are here, along with an overview of your current data usage.
On Apple devices, iCloud is simply part of the operating system. Most of Apple’s apps that sync data among iPhone, iPad, and macOS use iCloud by default, such as Contacts, Messages, and Reminders. iCloud also gives you an iCloud Drive folder, which you can find using Finder on Macs and the Files app on mobile devices. Inside the iCloud Drive folder you can see folders for every application you sync using iCloud, along with any folders and files you’ve added.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Any files you add to the iCloud Drive folder become available on your other devices. By default, these folders and files don’t download to the hard drive, which means they aren’t available offline. You have to enable downloading if you want offline access. On the Mac, click the Download icon to the right of the file or folder name; on mobile devices, tap and hold, then tap Download now. Once you have local copies of files downloaded, any changes you make to them while your device is offline will be uploaded and synced the next time it’s online.
This is similar to the way Microsoft’s OneDrive works. You can browse files by default but syncing only happens if you request it. IDrive, by contrast, syncs everything by default. Which approach works best for you is a matter of preference, but either way, it’s easy enough to configure your settings to work the way you want.
Mac users can optionally choose to automatically sync the entire Documents and Desktop folders to iCloud in the settings. If you do, your Documents folder will sync among any Macs you have, and the folder becomes available on mobile devices. If you want your Mac documents to stay completely in sync among all your devices, and you want to be able to access all files from your iPad and iPhone, using iCloud Drive is by far the simplest option, assuming you’re willing to pay for storage once you hit the ceiling of the 5GB that’s included for free.
iCloud? On My PC?
As mentioned, a Windows client for iCloud Drive lets you bring other PCs into the syncing picture, too, so you can sync your iCloud Drive and Photos to your device if you want. Optionally, you can also make the bookmarks and passwords you have saved on your Apple mobile devices available on browsers in your Windows computer.
(Credit: Microsoft/Apple/PCMag)
As with the macOS version, any files you drag to the iCloud Drive folder show up on other devices but aren’t automatically downloaded. A status icon shows whether a file is downloaded, syncing, or in the cloud. You can right-click any file or folder to download it for offline use. And just as on Apple devices, any offline changes you make to files will be uploaded the next time your device is online. It’s similar to the way OneDrive works in Windows.
(Credit: Microsoft/Apple/PCMag)
Overall, Apple’s iCloud Drive feels right at home in the Windows user interface. If you’re an iPhone user with a PC, there’s no reason not to install it.
If you’re primarily interested in syncing just photos, we have a separate tutorial on how to sync Apple Photos to your Windows 11 PC.
A Streamlined Browser Experience
You can access and manage your iCloud Drive from iCloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID and click the Drive button. From here you can browse and manage your entire iCloud Drive folder.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
The user interface is similar to that of the Files app on iPhone and iPad. Common file types, like images, can be previewed within the web interface. You can edit Pages, Sheets, and Keynote files right in the browser, which is handy if you’re on a PC and don’t use the far more popular Google Docs or Microsoft 365 apps, which also work on the web. Like those two office suites, Apple’s productivity apps offer simultaneous co-editing with multiple authors, thanks to iCloud syncing.
Sharing Across Platforms
The sharing functionality on macOS is, arguably, a little obscured. Right-click a file in your iCloud, then click Share, a button that’s there regardless of whether a file is in iCloud Drive. You see all the usual sharing options with the iCloud Drive functionality on top. You can decide to Collaborate with another iCloud Drive user, or you can Send a Copy of a file.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
The process is arguably a little more streamlined on Windows. Right-click a file and the sharing options are immediately visible instead of being somewhat-hidden in the systemwide Share menu.
One big shortcoming of Apple’s sharing functionality is that anyone who wants to access a file you’re sharing needs an Apple ID. There’s no way to share a link without requiring a login. That’s disappointing, because OneDrive, IDrive, and Dropbox all offer sharing without any kind of login.
How Fast Can iCloud Upload Files?
I uploaded 522GB of files to iCloud Drive as a test. It took one day, 16 hours, and 12 minutes, which implies an upload speed of 1GB every 4 minutes and 37 seconds. That’s a little on the slow end, but respectable. Dropbox was fastest, uploading at a speed of 1GB every 2 minutes and 56 seconds under the same conditions. IDrive got there in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. And Sync took the longest at 5 minutes and 31 seconds. I ran these tests on a Windows 10 desktop with a mechanical hard drive attached to my local network via Ethernet. My home internet upload speed is 50Mbps.
The Best Bet for Apple Enthusiasts
There’s no reason to even think about iCloud if you don’t own an Apple device—which is by design. If you’re a dedicated Apple user, however, iCloud should be the first cloud storage app you consider. It’s streamlined on Apple’s own devices, and is the default tool that many apps use for syncing. The pricing is perfectly reasonable, even if it’s not the best deal on the market.
Editors’ Choice winner OneDrive is a better deal for most people, however. It offers more storage for less money, includes an Android app, and at the paid level includes Office apps. Google Drive remains a great option and is our Editors’ Choice winner for its generous free tier of service and slick online productivity apps. If you want to get as much storage as possible for as little money as possible, Editors’ Choice winner IDrive is the best bet. Granted, none of them is as integrated with Apple’s ecosystem, but they add value in other ways.
Apple iCloud Drive
3.5
(Opens in a new window)
See It
$0.00
at Apple.com
(Opens in a new window)
MSRP Free
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
iCloud Drive is the simplest cloud storage and syncing program for Macs, iPhones, and iPads, and it’s surprisingly good for Apple users who also have a Windows PC.
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